Form. Function. Accessibility. For All.

Why Are Amputees Forced To Choose

Between Comfort and Aesthetics? Why Is Realism in Prosthetic Limbs not available to the Average Amputee?

What if I told you that most lower limb amputees are unhappy with their prosthetics? And I don’t just mean in terms of comfort, but in appearance as well.

And that medical, insurance and prosthetics industries do not consider that relevant at all.

In fact, they would prefer we stay that way.

Prosthetics haven’t REALLY changed that much in the last 100 years. In fact, Prosthetics wasn’t even considered a MEDICAL industry until 25 years ago.

And neither the medical, insurance nor even the prosthetics industries, consider that the appearance of a prosthetic, and even just living life with limb loss has a significant effect on a person’s mental health. ESPECIALLY women.

The only studies that were conducted regarding gender and  how limb loss affects their mental health happened in 1990 and 2017. And neither go into depth. At All. 

I have been a lower limb amputee for 30 years. Since I was 14 years old.And this was after growing up with a congenital, deformed leg, there was no other option for me, but Amputation. 

Even though the amputation definitely improved my quality of life for the most part in terms of mechanics, the thing I wanted most was to fit in. 

I have spent and wasted years of life in prosthetics offices begging for something that resembled ME. I wanted to know what I would actually look like with two matching feet. 

What I got was contempt, condescension, and dismissal. Door after figurative door slammed in my face. WHY?

My reasoning has always been, how can they make this stuff look real in the movies but not where it matters most?

The problem is… THEY CAN!

It just costs an INSANE amount of money and insurance REFUSES to pay for it because they claim it isn’t NECESSARY or beneficial at all.

What the general public and even amputees do not know, is that PROSTHETICS aren’t even considered NECESSARY TO INSURANCE COMPANIES!

They see them as no different than a cane or a wheelchair. WHich are all considered DURABLE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT NON ESSENTIAL TO LIVING.

The ability to MOVE under your own steam isn’t necessary for living. Nor it seems, is quality of life.

I started doing my own research and study. What I have discovered is heartbreaking.

First off, prosthetics are still made based on the physiography of a man. WHich makes ZERO Logical Sense. Men have denser bones, more compact muscle fiber and less collagen and elastin. This makes their skin thicker and tougher.

WOmen, who actually generally speaking, have a pain tolerance 4 times higher than men, report 8 TIMES higher pain along with their prosthesis. 

And sadly, they are 70% more likely to live and die alone. And even more devastating, have a suicide rate 4 times that of their male counterparts.

Why?

Pain definitely is a factor, however, we women have a much deeper and complex relationship with our appearance than most men do. Most men don’t mind cold, robotic looking limbs. SOme actually prefer them, However, there are many many women out there who just want to look and feel like themselves again, Or, like in my case, for the first time. 

But that option is not there for us. If we want it, we have to be able to afford tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket. Because INSURANCE and the United States Government REFUSES to acknowledge the correlation between appearance and mental health. 

When it absolutely makes zero logical and fiscal sense.

Why can’t it be OUR choice? If we want a robot leg, we can get the robot leg, But what if I want to look like a HUMAN on Tuesday? Why is the choice taken away from us?

And why on EARTH do the only Amputee Organizations out there BURY stories like this? I’ve done interviews with those groups and they either ignore it, or bury it. 

Special effects artists make realistic looking limbs  happen every single day. And it just so happens, I know one of the most prolific and prominent ones out there. 

My friend MUSFX/Designer Brian Sipe and I have an idea. We want to show the WORLD that it CAN be done, that it IS vital, and that it doesn’t have to cost so much that only Heather Mills McCartney can afford them. 

All women deserve the choice on how they live their lives, including amputees.

That is why we have launched The Belle Jambe Project. Form, Function, And Accessibility For All.

But we need your help. 

Sharing this is the easiest way to show your support. 

But, if we are going to change things in the industries, and prove to them what we already know, it takes capital. 

I know things are difficult right now for everyone. But if you are able to donate to The Belle Jambe project, not only will your gift be used for materials to build our first prototype, but for educational campaigns, outreach, and studies to be used in our mission to change the hearts and minds of those in those in Medical, Insurance and Prosthetic Fields to finally acknowledge that appearance can most definitely affect our mental health and quality of life.